Ikoku

Brogy and Dorry's battle ended, once again in a draw.

They lay on the ground, gazing at the vast starry sky. Dorry said, "Brogy, how much longer do you think we'll keep fighting?"

"Probably for a long time, huh? We've fought so many battles. Has it almost been a hundred years, or has it already been a hundred years? After all these years, haven't we always ended things this way? It'll be the same in the future. Gabababa, Dorry, you truly are worthy of being my dearest friend!"

"Hahaha, of course! We're lifelong rivals, after all!"

The two giants lay on the ground, chatting half-heartedly. Rodney and Crocus each dragged a dinosaur—one a Tyrannosaurus Rex, the other a Triceratops and an Ankylosaurus—to the coast to give Laboon his dinner.

Dorry shifted his gaze to the two of them and suddenly said, "Brogy, how about..."

Brogy was his lifelong friend and knew what he was thinking from a single glance. "Mm, let's do that, then. Young Rodney."

Rodney turned around and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"We'd like to ask you for a favor."

"What is it? Please, go ahead."

"Please go to Elbaf and have a look around for us. If everything is fine, we'll be able to rest easy."

"If I happen to pass by there someday, I will." Rodney wouldn't guarantee that he would definitely go to Elbaf, so he could only put it that way.

"Then we'll leave it to you. To thank you, we'll give you a gift," Brogy said.

"Uh, your things are too large for me. Forget it."

Dorry laughed. "No, not an object. We can't give you anything good right now anyway. All we have on us is an Eternal Pose pointing to Elbaf, but we can't give that to you. What we can give you is a battle technique."

"A giant's battle technique? Could it be..."

"The ultimate technique that we giants call the Spear of Heroes. I don't know whether you can learn it. After all, no human has ever used a giant's technique before." Brogy and Dorry stood up and said, "The giant ultimate technique, Elbaf Spear: Ikoku!"

(Here, it is assumed that Big Mom's Ikoku is a giant technique.)

"Ikoku?" Rodney's eyes lit up. Big Mom's Ikoku had immense destructive power. Although she had most likely learned it within the Rocks Pirates, the giant race had already regarded her as a great enemy, so it was impossible for her to have learned it from them. She could only have learned it within the Rocks Pirates.

"The key question is, can a human like me learn it?" Rodney asked. The difference between a giant's body and a human's was simply too great. Learning a technique like Ikoku was no easy feat. Even among giants, not everyone could use it.

"Probably." Dorry rose to his feet and said, "I'll simplify Ikoku so it'll be easier for you to learn. After you go to Elbaf in the future, you can learn it again."

"I understand. Please teach me, Masters."

"Gabababa, then let's begin! Watch closely, Rodney! I'll demonstrate the complete version of Elbaf Spear for you first!" Brogy rose to his feet and lifted the axe in his hand. "The most important thing is the weapon in your hand. Without a sturdy weapon, using this technique with only your body will place an enormous burden on you. The demands it places on a weapon are extremely high. The weapons in our hands have fought for a hundred years. After using this technique, they may break."

He raised his axe and swung it violently down toward the empty sea.

"Elbaf Spear: Ikoku!"

The axe unleashed a magnificent spiral shockwave. Its fierce, explosive force compressed into a sharp spear that seemed capable of piercing through all things, boring a massive hole through the surface of the sea. Only after the force dissipated did seawater swallow the hole.

Crack!

That strike also snapped the ancient weapon in his hand, bringing its life to an end.

Rodney's Sharingan recorded Brogy's movements in his mind. He then used Mission Points to exchange for a standard straight sword from Kumogakure in the shop.

Imitating Brogy's movements, he gathered a massive amount of Chakra into both arms and the sword.

"Elbaf Spear: Ikoku!"

Boom!

The spiraling sword aura likewise compressed into a spear, but it dissipated in midair before traveling very far.

Huh?

"Not bad, truly not bad! With talent for learning like that, you're an excellent warrior!" Dorry couldn't help exclaiming loudly when he saw it.

Even they had spent a long time learning Elbaf Spear. When they first used the technique, they couldn't produce sword aura like this at all.

Brogy said, "That's right, that's right! A born warrior! Given enough time, you'll definitely learn it!"

Dorry said, "Brogy just used the complete version of Elbaf Spear. Now I'll teach you the simplified version. Although it looks like you don't need it, it'll help you master the technique."

He stood up and swung the greatsword in his hand.

"Elbaf Spear: Ikoku!"

This strike was far weaker than the one Brogy had just used, but its power was still not to be underestimated. Cracks also appeared in the weapon in his hand. If he used several more attacks like this, it might well collapse.

An attack like Ikoku was too much for even a giant's weapon to withstand repeated use. That was one of the reasons they rarely used the technique.

Dorry and Brogy began teaching Rodney the points he needed to pay attention to when using Ikoku. Rodney suddenly felt enlightened as many things he hadn't understood became clear.

When he used the simplified version, his success rate increased greatly, and its destructive power was quite impressive. Its range extended forty meters directly in front of him.

If he used the true Ikoku... he probably wouldn't be able to pull it off.

"Elbaf Spear: Ikoku!"

The spiraling sword aura pierced through the tree before him, displaying considerable power.

Crack!

Cracks appeared on the straight sword in his hand, and it shattered soon after, leaving only the hilt in his grasp.

Ikoku drastically shortened a weapon's lifespan. To keep using a single sword, he had to learn Haki. Before that, Rodney would either have to keep changing weapons or find one of superior quality.

"Ah, if I'd known, I would've taken the Sandai Kitetsu in Loguetown. Then I wouldn't have been left without a weapon after White Fang shattered." He shook his head, then suddenly remembered that Moria had dug up the corpse of Wano Country's sword saint Ryuma. Ryuma still had Shusui, one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades.

He remembered that sword being of excellent quality.

With that thought, he said to Crocus beside him, "Old man, I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"Oh? What is it?" Crocus turned around and asked while bandaging Brogy and Dorry's wounds.

"I just saw that Moria has a good sword in the hands of one of his zombies. I'd like to ask you to have your friend bring it to the Sabaody Archipelago. I'll go there to get it."

"Oh? You've taken a liking to that sword? All right. I'll speak to the vice-captain. You can collect it from him when the time comes. Consider it a token of thanks for finding Laboon a friend." He hadn't known what gift of thanks to prepare for Rodney, but it seemed he had found one now. Still, he would first have to see whether that sword was truly a good one. If it wasn't, he would prepare another gift later.

"Mm, sorry for the trouble, old man."

Crocus waved his hand and continued what he was doing.

Brogy and Dorry suffered old injuries layered with new ones every day. Their bodies were covered in wounds. If not for a giant's powerful physique, an ordinary person would have died long ago.

"You'd better not fight for the next few days. Otherwise, it won't do your bodies any good. Listen to the doctor!" Crocus urged them.

Brogy laughed. "Gabababa, that won't do, Doctor. Our battles happen every day. We just need to wait for the volcano to erupt in between them—that means our battle has begun."

"You can rest for one day. Think of your health."

"Haha, Doctor, then we wouldn't be ourselves."

Their answer left Crocus helpless. They were just like the crew members on the ship in the past. Whenever he forbade injured men from drinking, they insisted on drinking anyway.

No matter how much he tried to stop them, he couldn't.

"Fine, fine. Don't fight tonight."

Crocus waved his hand, jumped down from Dorry's shoulder, and went off to rest.

An old man couldn't stay up all night. It wasn't good for his health.

"We should rest too." Brogy and Dorry lay down where they stood and immediately fell asleep.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Their snores boomed like thunder.

Rodney was too disturbed to sleep. In the end, he gave up on sleeping, found a place, and continued learning Elbaf Spear and the Six Powers with a Shadow Clone. As for resting?

He would worry about it tomorrow. It wasn't as though he couldn't go without a night's sleep.